I have always liked Hannah Adamaszek’s murals and have seen a fair few of them over the years in Bristol. Usually portraits of striking women in soft tones, her work is must unlike anything else we commonly see on the streets of Bristol.
Hanna Adamaszek, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
It was a pity that this particular piece was tucked away on the wall of a beer garden under a rather grubby canopy that rather exaggerated its yellowness. Also Walls such as this are so difficult to look at and photograph, because of all the people sitting in front of them. This is a fine piece slightly impacted by circumstance. She’ll be back though I’m sureb with a better wall to paint.
Only a matter of a few days ago I posted a fine piece by Kedals at the Cheltenham Paint Festival, then on rifling through some old folders in my archive, I came across these two fabulous wheatpastes in March this year. Kedals has such a unique style that comes through in his larger murals as well as his wheatpastes.
Kedals, Queen Charlotte Street, Bristol, March 2019
The first of this pair of striking posters features a portrait of a rather portly man sporting what looks like a straw or canvas hat and smoking a rather large cigar. The whole thing is decorated with bright colours and shapes and is st for the eyes.
Kedals, Queen Charlotte Street, Bristol, March 2019
The second of these portraits looks like it might be called ‘booze cruise’ although with a Kedals piece who knows what the title or sub-text is? There is a lady smoking (smoking seems to be a bit of a theme) puff, puff, looking up at a vintage car with the words ‘gear 4 gas’. Curious and compelling stuff. I’ll keep looking out for the work of this unusual Bristol artist.
A gallery of absolutely stunning work from Bristol artist Jody
All photographs taken by Scooj
Jody, Greenbank, Bristol, August 2023Jody, Queen’s Road, Bristol, August 2023Jody, Queen’s Road, Bristol, August 2023Jody, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2023Evey and Jody, Dean Lane, Bristol, May 2023Jody, Brunel Way, Bristol, April 2023Jody and Dibz, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, September 2022Jody, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, September 2022Jody, Sparke Evans Park, Bristol, June 2022Jody, Upper Byron Place, Bristol, February 2016Jody, Raleigh Road, Bristol, October 2021, Upfest 21Jody, Raleigh Road, Bristol, March 2020Rusk and Jody, Raleigh Road, Bristol, March 2020Jody, Lower Approach Road, Bristol, October 2019Jody, Lower Approach Road, Bristol, October 2019Jody, Millennium Square, Bristol, September 2019Jody door, North Street, Bristol, June 2019Jody, Upfest, Tobacco Factory, Bristol, June 2019Jody, Upfest, Tobacco Factory, Bristol, May 2019Jody, Upfest, Tobacco Factory, Bristol, May 2019Jody, Stokes Croft, Bristol, March 2019Jody, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018Jody, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018Jody, Charlotte Street, Bristol, February 2018Jody, Charlotte Street, Bristol, February 2018Jody, Spotted Cow, Bristol, January 2018Jody, Greville Road, Bristol, September 2015Jody, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017Jody, Upfest, Bristol, July 2017Jody, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, November 2017Jody and Cheo, North Street, Bristol, April 2017Jody, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016Jody, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016Jody, North Street Green, Bristol, January 2017Jody, North Street, Bristol, April 2016Jody, North Street, Bristol, April 2016
Ahh! Lobe with another exceptional, bold, stylised, portrait, this time of an unshaven man with spectacles and woolly hat. I have only seen a few of her pieces, but every single one of them has brought a smile and I get a real sense of excitement each time l find a new one.
Lobe, M32 cycle path, Bristol, November 2019
It is funny how different graffiti spots in Bristol can undergo peaks and troughs in terms of turnover. The cycle path has been quite dead for a while and then suddenly over the last couple of weeks it has kind of got busy again, this being one of several recent pieces. It just shows that constantly patrolling each of these favoured graffiti spots is utterly worth it.
Having only recently ‘discovered’ Lobe, it seems that I am finding her work all over the place (and still have some to find). This is a lovely sunny piece at the M32 roundabout, with a rather unfortunate bit of graffiti just above it ‘viagra’ – I sometimes wonder what gets into people’s minds when they scrawl something like that.
Lobe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, October 2019
Once again Lobe hits us with bold colours and strong lines and shading which is very much her style. Placing the bright yellow piece on a spotty pink background works really well. Another fine piece from Lobe.
There are some streets that are so heavily festooned with street art, graffiti art, bombing and tags that it can become easy to overlook some gems in amongst all the noise. One such piece is this gorgeous stencil by C215.
C215, Bacon Street, Shoreditch, London, April 2019
The occupiers of 21 Bacon Street may not appreciate it, but they are privileged that their door has been chosen for such a magnificent and technically brilliant stencil. For me, finding small pieces like this is what makes the effort I put into seeking out art on walls so utterly worth it. Great work from C215.
This is an absolutely terrific piece from a Bristol fave, Hazard, and she has really stuck to the brief by painting a piece that links to literature and in this case the Maya Angelou autobiography ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’. I have not read this book, but clearly it is a favourite of the artist, and she has created a beautiful atmosphere of reading with this long wall mural.
Hazard, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019
What I like about this piece is that it has a real sense of calm about it, from the soft decorative bookends to the gentle light touching the reader’s face, a reader who it utterly absorbed by what she is reading. The piece is in stark contrast to its surroundings but cleverly draws you in so that all you can see is the reader.
Hazard, Paint Festival 2019, Cheltenham, September 2019
I was fortunate enough to meet Hazard for the first time when she was setting up to paint the wall, and I was pleased to discover that she knew about Natural Adventures and had read some of my posts about her work.
I always feel a little embarrassed about striking up a conversation with street artists, because what I do is a little bit niche and consuming and I am prone to being a little bit star-struck on a first meeting. This is an utterly irrational position, because in my experience street and graffiti artists are some of the most down-to-earth and decent people that I know.
It is a great feeling discovering an artist who is relatively new to the Bristol scene and finding their pieces dotted about the place. One such artist is Lobe and I get a little ping of excitement each time I find one of her stylised portraits, a feeling I get each time I find a piece by Laic217 – some artists have this effect on me more than others.
Lobe, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, October 2019
This piece looks like it is a tribute piece to Wayne. Such works often have a little touch of sadness about them, but that is ok, it is a fair reflection of life in general. Once again her bold colours and shadings demonstrate her distinctive style which is just as well as I have yet to see a signed piece by her. All good.
Hurrah… another piece from Lobe, an artist whose work is instantly recognisable and really stands out from the crowd. It is the boldness and simplicity of her pieces that really appeal to me, but take a little look a bit closer and you can see the thought that has gone into the shading and lines that make her style so distinctive.
Lobe, M32 roundabout, Bristol, September 2019
Finding her work is still hugely rewarding as they are relatively rare, but I am sure that over the coming weeks and months we will be seeing plenty more from this emerging talent. Hit me with those big colours!
It feels like an absolute age (and it probably is) since I last posted anything from Jee See, and here on one of the ramps at Dean Lane he recently painrted this little collaboration piece with Pekoe. I think it might have been at the rescheduled DLH (Dean Lane Hardcore) event a couple of weekends back.
Jee See, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2019
Jee See has written a rather nice 3D rendition of his moniker which adopts a whole load of very nicely done shadings, hatchings, drips, cracks and colour fades. So good to see him back in action.
Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2019
Just to the right of Jee See’s writing is another one of Pekoe’s beautiful ladies in blue, a colour she often favours, and with a little tear beneath her eye – what does this tear tell us about the srtist? Is there some inherent sadness there? There is a clue in the top right of the piece which indicates that it is a tribute to Janet. Tribute pieces are often painted with a little extra love and have a poignancy to them.
Pekoe, Dean Lane, Bristol, September 2019
I am so enjoying finding and appreciating Pekoe’s work which just seems to be on a steady improvement.
Natural adventures 